It's been a very long time since my raid group held a Pokémon Go tournament of any kind. Recently, some of the other members agreed on the same matter, and a "sparring tournament" was quickly conceived with the help of the Silph Arena. I took part in that tournament, and with it having concluded, I can now discuss it in some detail as well as its prospects for the battles that will come in a variety of guises.
This is a "sparring" and thus a "practice" tournament, but it still has some competitive value regardless, though not for the Silph Arena itself as right now it is in between seasons - more on this later. The selected theme is the Halloween Cup from the GBL, but the tournament format follows Silph Arena standards. Therefore, for those looking forward to the next Silph Arena season or GBL formats, the "practice" is for that, though execution will be different depending on the themes.
Scheduling for this tournament is also quite different: instead of it being held in a single day, the tournament was held over multiple days. This is something that the remote format of the Silph Arena allows since it was implemented when the global situation changed, but I've never participated in one with such a scheduling until now. For this one, each round is conducted within 1 day or 24 hours, and with four rounds by 12 participants, it took 4 days, and this one started on Monday evening. I completed the fourth round and all my battles last night, which means I can write about it today, moreover with the tournament having formally concluded at 8 PM.
Personally, my results weren't half bad but weren't too good either. I won half of my rounds and in fact won half of my battles as well, 6 wins and 6 losses. I ended up third among the four Trainers also with two wins and seventh place overall. There were also some very close battle results that could have gone for the better with a slight tweak or worse had I not taken certain actions, and who knows what would have happened if so. The entire tournament also had a progression that completely formed patterns, which is rare among tournaments like these and allowed the winner to be determined in a single final match; it was likely helped by the even number of participants.
As noted, this is the first tournament in such a long time by my raid group. With the incoming Silph Arena season and other themed cup varieties that the GBL will introduce, it may be possible to initiate other tournaments, "sparring" or otherwise, for anyone of the raid group to join in. Other possibilities may be dependent on how the tournament managers feel about opening up, but I'd say that if they're open, they will definitely be open, especially if specific formats are to be regarded.
This tournament was quite refreshing in many ways. The raid group finally hosting another, with unique scheduling, is a change from the current efforts focused on non-battle activities, and it brings much-needed interactions to try to get going for the battle activities that may lie ahead. That ought to be the real refresher for me and the other participants. And once real battles get going in upcoming venues, we may have this tournament to thank to prepare for them.
One year ago: The HIStory of the Future (and Now, with Pokémon)
Two years ago: Performance Critique: GACOS LEVELUP J-Song
Three years ago: New Pokémon, New World?
Four years ago: Pikachu with Regional Caps
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